Heart rate below 40

Common Questions and Answers about Heart rate below 40

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My heart rate for some reason was up to 114 and in about half an hour (when I regularely pass out after standing with out moving) my heartrate shot down to below40. I got light headed and managed to keep standing for some time. However my legs came out from under me and I lost all sthregth I was alittle nausous but more then anything I just didn't feel right. When this happens it takes a while for me to feel normal again. They said it wasn't my heart though and said to send me to nuerology.

I would not worry about this. Don't think that if your heartrate falls below 60 that something is wrong. It is not uncommon while at rest, to have your HR dip below 60. Some people have rates that drop into the 30'3&40's while sleeping.
Our heart rates will fluctuate which, for most, is a normal variable. Try not to worry too much about this.

40-44 heartrate even when moving around and dips to 38-40 while laying down.
A heaviness on the chest, then pain on left side of chest , dizziness, extreme exhaustion, breathing seems to be restricted a bit.
Then as time goes on after laying down, pain in left shoulder.
Last about 1/2 or getting better then worse, then it subsides.
Some pcv during this "episode" but heart rate stays around 40.
The night before exhaustion was extreme.

They took me into the medical van, gave me oxygen, noted my blood pressure was a little higher, but heartratebelow 100 now. As they were calling in to say they were releasing me, a final BP reading was 190/120--it was escalating and not good.
In the ER, my BP was up to 220/125.... ECG looked good. Follow-up with physician looked good (24 hour BP monitoring 119/79 plus my random testing of 125/83) seemed fine.

My EP doctor wasn't too concerned about a heartrate in the 40's as long as it wasn't staying at that rate. Mine would just drop now and then, but then go back up to the 50's. She told me to be concerned if it dropped below 40. I think it is the meds. I am taking sotalol and cardizem for h/r control. I also had a RF ablation done in January for my a-fib and a-flutter. Hopefully in July I will be taken off the h/r meds and my heart rate will go up?

I'm decently active at 22 yrs of age playing pick up basketball every other day and working out sometimes. My heartrate has been getting into the 40's when I'm sitting at rest taking my Bp but will sometime jump from 40's to 50's to 60's and even 70's sometimes but it will get to about 45 sometimes. I'm 6'3 I have an athletic looking body type I was wondering if its serious or what I told my doctor. I told him I had no symptoms really maybe sometimes I'll get dizzy moments after standing.

I noticed my BP has been below 120/80 usually around 115/60 to 70 with HR in the 40's while resting. Its been consistent.
But for the last week I've noticed that my SYSTolic has been running high. In the 130's and occassionally as high as 150 and my HR had picked up to in the 50's.
My back was killing me from a fall I had a month and a half ago during this period and I went to the Chiropractor.

I am on 75 mg of Lopresor a day. My normal resting heartrate had been in the low 50's before the beta blocker. Now, with the beta blocker, it is reading 41 at rest. I don't know the number at night while sleeping. At what number is the rate considered too low? I am a 60-year-old female being treated with beta blockers to block the effects of a hyperthyroid on the heart (it was causing atrial fib) until the hyperthyroid can be brought under control with Tapazole.

At one point it was 98/68. However, MD was concerned with my low heartrate, which at times dipped below40. It hovered arount 47. He told me not to take anything, and I have an appointment with him later this month. He is not the cardiologist I usually see, I moved to the shore in NJ and my cardiologist is at HUP in Philly. I will see him in January. I had a stress test in the hospital and did well. For the chest pain I was given Nitro under my tongue. It did relieve the pain.

I could write pages about this, but I'll just answer the question simple. The answer is YES! it's possible and very likely.
You can forget the "normal values" of 60-100 beats pr minute. They are just the definition on what is sinus rhythm, or if below; sinus bradycardia, and above, sinus tachycardia. When you exercise, it's "normal" to have a heart rate above 100, and if you rest or sleep, it's normal to have a heart rate below 60.

My bp and resting rate became too low after losing 80 lbs so I asked to have my dose lowered since I was dizzy all the time (resting ratebelow40, bp resting 80/60). I'm feeling so much better now that I'm weaning off of it but it was a great help prior to the weight loss - I had no side effects at all.

You state in your title that you have a low heart rate but describe your issue in % which is more related to ejection fraction rate. Are you clear on whether the doctor was describing your heartrate or ejection fraction. This could very well determine how troubling your issue really is. I would think a slow heart rate would be not quite as troubling as a low ejection fraction that said, I would assume you are being treated for your heart failure. Please do not stop doing so.

my heartrate is rarely under 90-100 and hardly ever below 80. walkign today for exercise it easily reaches 150-160bpm. is this normal? i had a healthy heart on tests not old looking. i worry alot. i wonder if i worry less somehow along with exercise could it help to slow my heart better and make me less prone to racing beats with excitement and exercise so easily? that is bad cuase it makes me outta breath fast too! ideas?

1. My resting heartrate varies considerably during the day. It is almost always between 60 and 100 but the changes seem strange. Just after waking up it is usually between 64 and 72. In the afternoons after lunch it is usually in 80's or low 90's. In the evenings it goes back down to 60's or 70's.
2. Is it just the case that some people are over sensitive to stimulants like alcohol or even exercise? I had two glasses of champagne yesterday and my HR stayed over 100 for 2 hours.

I know that the more sedentary I am the higher my resting heart rate, but I've never had a heartrate lower than 65.
You sound great! The thought of you dashing around the house and having animated conversations is very encouraging to me.
Hope all goes well with the monitor.

The more in shape you are, the slower the heartrate can be and you can still be healthy as far as the heart goes. Thelower heartrate can also be a result of what you are doing; when you sleep, your heart rate can drop down into the 40's range with no ill effects. What IS importantant is whether or not your heart rate will increase with activity. If you are working hard, say running, and your heart rate will NOT go above the 100 range, it's time to visit your doctor.

My cardiologist would even go as far as saying anything between 45-110 is normal if you're not experiencing symptoms. If your heart is structurally sound (have you had an echo?), and if your heartrate raises appropriately with activity, I don't think you have a problem.

When I am in bed and roll over I notice that my heartrate is very racy for about 45 sec. then it goes back to normal. My heartrate is usually around 45-52. When I climb stairs or do lunges it goes up to around 100-120 but it will come back down to 50 less than 70 sec. My blood pressure is around 105/60. Thank you for your time.

A normal ejection fraction is 55 to 75 percent. An EF of less than 40 percent indicates that the heart muscle has been damaged and is not functioning properly
An LVEF over 75% is considered too high, or medically-termed as being a hyperdynamic or a hypercontractile left ventricle (LV), that is, the heart is pumping forcefully, an excessive amount of blood is being pumped out.

we cannot directly control our heartrate but we can control our breathing which can control our heartrate.
I think excercise, at least for me, is a necessary part of dealing with this, that and meditation/mindfulness to retrain the brain. I exercise every day from 15-40 minutes. I just check my heart rate on occasion, many days not at all, but if it is below 140 i just remind myself my heart is a muscle that needs exercising just like my other muscles.

In January, when I saw my oncologist, it was normal, low 60's.
Recently, I went to the Dr. because of a slow heartrate 42 BPM. Blood test were normal for me. They have monitored my heartrate/blood pressure weekly for a couple months. No change in heartrate. blood pressure is usually about 129/78. EKG was normal. Should I be concerned? I am moderatly fit, but not one who exercises other than walking several times per week. I am not overweight.
Should I see a cardiologist?

My resting pulse rate is 55-60. My heartrate recovery is about 40 BMP after a minute,
I can train at about 160 BPM for 30 minutes or so without too much effort. This seems high to me by all standard calculators. Should I be concerned? Is it worth getting an ECG? My thinking is that although my heart is efficient from years of training, my arteries might be narrowed, forcing the heart to pump harder to get the same amount of blood/oxygen around.
Any observations?

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